Hemingway's "A Clean Well-Lighted Place" centers around the conversation of two waiters in a comfortable, homey Spanish cafe. They are discussing one of the regulars, a quiet, dignified old man who comes into the cafe every evening and drinks brandy which he is careful to pay before leaving for the night. He has, we discover, recently attempted suicide. The old man is definitely the dramatis personae and draws more attention of readers. The older waiter is even nameless, but he links the old man and the younger waiter. The characterization on him deepens our understanding of the story.
From the conversation between the older waiter and his colleague, we can find that the younger of the two waiters is impatient with the old man; he just wishes the customer would quit drinking and go home, so that the waiter could go home too. He cannot relate to whatever causes the old man to nurse so many drinks over so long a period, night after night, in the quiet cafe. He especially cannot understand what could have led the old man to attempt suicide, because the old man "has plenty of money," and the young waiter cannot imagine a source of despair any more profound than a shortage of ready cash. Compared with his college, the older waiter is sympathetic and compassionate. When a girl and a solider went by the street, he says,.
"The guard will pick him up.".
"He had better get off the street now. The guard will get him".
He is saddened when the young waiter insults the old man (regardless of whether or not the old man heard his remark, it is heartless anyway) and is even more grieved when the young waiter closes the cafe and sends the old man away. When he watched the old man go down the street, he says,.
"Why didn't you let him stay and drink?".
"L want to go home to bed.".
"What is an hour?".
"More to me than to him.".
"An hour is the same." £ Sui Gang Page 17.
All these words show his kindness. But in the other side, this kind of sympathy and compassion roots from his similar feelings as the old man.